Sunnyvale apartment fire cause: sleepy cook

Sunnyvale fire investigators said Wednesday that a major apartment blaze earlier this week was sparked after a sleepy cook fell asleep watching television while a pot burned on the stove.

A man living in the complex on 639 Caliente Drive in Sunnyvale, just off the North Fair Oaks Avenue ramp from Highway 101, told investigators he had put a pot on the stove while cooking a meal around 1:50 a.m. on Monday.

He went to watch television, fell asleep and the next thing he knew was awoken by his smoke detector blaring.

The resident tried putting the fire out but couldn't. He wound up in the hospital after suffering second-degree burns to his hands, arms and face. But firefighters said he would have died if not for the smoke detector waking him up, as his apartment unit was fully engulfed in flames by the time they arrived.

After his futile attempt to douse the flames, the man ran out and screamed for his neighbors to flee their homes. Eventually about 40 people fled the complex as firefighters battled the three-alarm fire, although no one else was injured.

The fire caused $800,000 in damage to the building and burned three apartment units, with several more suffering water damage.